That's allegedly the rule for anyone giving up a nasty addiction, that the first three days are the hardest. It's true, this advice is normally aimed at people quitting a drug addiction, trying to quit smoking etc. However, I'm pretty sure my addiction to tea counts. Whoever, said it, was wrong. And tea, is just not tea without milk and no, that soya stuff doesn't count. It's not the same.
I marched myself to the supermarket on day one. I even visited the 'free from' situation, one of the only aisles I can buy produce from. I left the store, happily (even though the man on checkouts laughed at my vegan book) with my tofu, fresh vegetables and various soya products.
My first meal as a vegan wasn't even that bad. In fact, I only struggled with one major issue; my sweet tooth. It wasn't calmed by my lovely soya raspberry yoghurt dessert. No. I felt miserable and work was difficult. The worst thing was, my cups of tea didn't taste like tea, no longer comfort in a mug. Great, fantastic Leanne. Only 27 more days to go.
On the second day, to my amazament, I discovered the wonder that is Kettle Crisps. The packet even reads, 'suitable for vegans'.
My tea looked incredibly colourful on day 3, a pasta dish consisting of asparagus, chunky vegetable sauce, chopped tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and various spices. Hey, it even tasted good. I am exhausted from label reading, but I feel like I've been on a detox. I feel like the pinacle of health. Minus the exhaustion.
On day 4, I made an error. I broke in to a bag of crisps, only to see a 'contains milk'. I gave my crisps to a grateful friend and felt bad; I had been too lazy to read the label. I relaxed and I made a mistake. I wondered, how often does this happen to your standard vegan? Does it get easier? As a vegetarian, I knew that on the rare occasion, I made a mistake. Surely it must happen to most vegans? But, how often?
On day five, I went to a health shop. I found something amazing; chocolate. For vegans. I also invested in sunflower seeds and some essential nuts, for that extra health perk. I considered buying some vitamin supplements, but after recent health reports, I realised this may not be wise. I decided that I must see a dietitian.
For the weekend, I visited my Mum, who struggled to find something for me to eat. There was a massive slice of cake sitting before my eyes in the kitchen and it was soul destroying turning it down; I am sure that was the first time in my life that I said no to cake. We survived the weekend, my mother let me go, assuring me that she now doubted my sanity and I returned home, not at all ready for week two. However, there was one major issue:
Some psychological thought had left me feeling that it may actually be good, to live in the world not taking anything from any animal; to be at one with the world.
Maybe it was the exhaustion talking....
